


White Flames and Dark Thorns

by Samxquzl



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: F/M, How Do I Tag, Invisible Kingdom | Revelation Route, Minor Character Death, Mostly Camilla and Ryoma, My First AO3 Post, Only Like Three Characters are Relevant, Other Are Background I Guess, Slow Burn, Tags Are Hard, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 15:39:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14547954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samxquzl/pseuds/Samxquzl
Summary: I originally wrote this for an exchange on a different platform way back in December, and I figured I might as well post it here since otherwise it would sit in my drive doing nothing. I hope you enjoy it I guess, don't mind any weird inconsistencies as I haven't looked over this work a whole lot.





	White Flames and Dark Thorns

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this for an exchange on a different platform way back in December, and I figured I might as well post it here since otherwise it would sit in my drive doing nothing. I hope you enjoy it I guess, don't mind any weird inconsistencies as I haven't looked over this work a whole lot.

White Flames and Dark Thorns

"They weren't kidding about this place being a dump," Selena casually remarks as the army is preparing to battle.  
"Oh dear, try not to let it sour your mood," Camilla looks at Selena with a soft smile "We'll be done here soon enough."  
"The rubble can block their advances, don't get caught under it." Beruka states blankly, looking between the two to make sure they heard her.  
"Everyone get into position! We're going after the invisible enemies, don't get caught up with the others when it's unnecessary!" Corrin yells loudly so everyone can hear, "We also have two new members of the army, make sure to work well with Keaton and Kaden. I can tell that they will be valuable assets." As she nods to them, Keaton looks a bit bashful while Kaden offers a bright smile.  
As everyone finishes preparing, Camilla looks out at the destroyed town and spots Ryoma off to the right. He's easy to spot thanks to his armor, but what really catches her eye is the woman mounted next to him. It's not uncommon for Hoshido to have armies of air fighters, but they've been known to use pegasi; this woman was on a wyvern. 'Either they stole a wyvern or that woman is a traitor, she'll go down either way if she so much as threatens Corrin.' Camilla thought to herself as she imagined taking her down. Corrin said not to fight needless battles, but she didn't say what constitutes a needless battle, right? A justification is all she needs, and Corrin would probably forgive her if her axe "slipped" and cut down one too many Hoshidan soldiers.  
While Camilla was focusing her sights on Ryoma and his mysterious accomplice, Selena tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. “Hey Camilla, you might want to stay clear of the western part of town.  
“What was that?” She looked over at selena, who motioned towards the left side of the town. While she was so caught up with the Hoshidan troops, she somehow failed to notice that Xander was standing in the mirror position of Ryoma. “Oh gods, make sure no one goes near him. He won’t rush anyone down, but he will not hesitate to dispatch anyone who opposes him,” she whispers to Selena, who goes to tell Corrin the news about this strange family reunion. As she runs off, Camilla turns to plot her course through the town.  
She’s fortunate to be able to fly over the water, but that won’t do her much good if she were to be a clear shot for any archer.  
“Everyone move out! Remember to not get caught alone!” Corrin yells to the army. As everyone starts moving forward, Corrin walks over to Camilla, “Can you give me a lift to the Eastern side? We have enough of a force attacking on the West.” Camilla just smiles as she helps Corrin onto her Wyvern and she launchers towards the Hoshidans.  
Rushing into the fight, Camilla drops Corrin off and then turns back to help everyone else get through. Corrin is extremely durable as a dragon, but the rest of the army doesn’t have that leisure. “Help clear a path for everyone else from over here, I’ll make sure they’re pushed back enough to not threaten everyone.” She said to Camilla, who in turn started working her way through the enemy soldiers to get to her allies. Fighting through hordes of soldiers, Camilla can’t help but notice that Corrin has moved pretty far ahead of everyone. Is it possible she doesn’t know she’s alone? Flying over to her, Camilla spots the woman that was with Ryoma is also approaching, and a lot faster.  
The woman swings her axe, but she’s much too slow for Corrin. With a quick slice of the Yato, Corrin quickly takes her down, but with her defeat Ryoma can be heard yelling something--presumably the woman’s name?--as he charges after her. Watching Ryoma charge after Corrin, Camilla quickly picks up the pace to make sure he doesn’t lay a finger on her. Corrin, not expecting her brother to attack her so fiercely, meekly raises her sword to try and block his hit, but she won’t be strong enough to take an attack from someone so powerful. Being too far away to block the attack directly, Camilla pulls out a thunder tome she keeps for emergencies and aims to knock Ryoma off his course.  
He staggers back as the lightning lands at his feet, but he’s otherwise unaffected. Glaring daggers at the source of the attack, he raises his sword as if to strike; unfortunately for him, Camilla flies by and grabs Corrin too quickly for him to react. Flying away before Ryoma can catch them, Camilla turns and looks at Corrin. “Dear, I thought we weren’t supposed to get separated,” she teases while she secretly plots how to take down Ryoma for daring to attack his own sister like that.  
“I must’ve gotten carried away, I didn’t expect Ryoma to be so furious over that woman. He yelled something when she went down, but I was too caught off guard to think about it at the time,” she looked back at him as they flew away, “She’s obviously a Nohrian, so why would he care so much? I thought he hated Nohr…”  
Flying back to the rest of the army, all the ground units grouped up with flyers to rush down the invisible enemies at the center of the town. With the last of them gone, and most of the Hoshidan and Nohrian armies out of commision, the fighting ceased while everyone retreated. Corrin tried to convince Ryoma and Xander that they were fighting the wrong enemy, but neither of them would listen as they both quickly retreated. With everyone gone, Corrin planned out the next steps to take to fight off this unknown enemy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Right outside the bottomless canyon is where they hoped anyone would show up, but the army that did show up was not quite what they wished for.  
Running into Hans wasn't the worst possible outcome, but it definitely wasn't ideal. There wasn't a great area for a clear fight with all the flames rising and falling at random, but he stood in their way more than the fire ever would. Planning out their strategy, everyone was anxious as no one was sure if everything would work out. Following Corrin seemed like the noble path, but now that the time has come to test their faith, even her closest allies seem to have their concerns.  
“Are you absolutely sure that we have to go down there?” Camilla looks over at Corrin, but she already knows the answer. Looking out at all the Nohrian troops on the field, Camilla refuses to believe this is Xander’s answer, there has to be some explanation.  
As everyone finishes preparing, Corrin gives the final call: “Stay away from the fissures in the ground as best as you can, the flames rise to high too fly over and it’s not worth losing anyone when we’re so close to our goal.” With her final warning, the army starts moving forward only for Camilla to be stopped in her tracks at a strange sight.  
Just north of where everyone is positioned, easily recognizable red armor glows in the flames of the battlefield. What’s even more shocking is that it’s not just one man, but it’s a small group of people: Ryoma, Hinoka, the woman with the wyvern, and two others that Camilla had no memory of. Perhaps they were allies picked up along the way, but where would they find a monk along their way?  
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Corrin.” Ryoma says as he slowly walks towards her while Camilla keeps a steady hand on her axe. She eyes him closely while he explains that he’s here to join them.  
“You all came!” Corrin cries in relief as she lowers her sword slightly “But… what changed?”  
“Well, after hearing that you’ve been telling everyone the same story, I figured it wouldn’t make sense for you to go through the trouble of lying to everyone, nor would it be  
something you would do.” Ryoma seemed honest enough, but Camilla refused to let her guard down in case he tried something.  
She was glad to have more firepower on their side, but it’s a bit hard for her to believe that Ryoma is fully on their side now. Content to let Corrin lead, Camilla makes sure to keep her eye on him. Who knows, maybe he’ll snap like he did last time? If ever he does, it’ll be his last action.

***

The fight was slow and tedious as they all had to work around the pillars of flame, but once they reached Hans it was easy to take him out with Ryoma on their side. It was as if Hans had never seen a samurai before, or maybe Ryoma’s agility was just that impressive. Whatever, Camilla still didn’t trust his intentions, and it wasn’t as if Hans was even a big threat anyway.  
“If that’s the last of them, then we should move on before anyone else can stand in our way,” Ryoma mentioned to Corrin “It wouldn’t do to get caught again and miss our chance.”  
“Pardon me, but I think it would be wise to care for our wounded before we hastily rush into possibly another ambush,” Camilla leered at Ryoma, “Unless you would rather all of our tired troops be told that they can’t breath for a second because we have to rush to the next fight?”  
“I never said anything about rushing after the enemy, I merely suggest that we move on to find safety before we settle down and waste the time that’s running out.” Ryoma raises his voice while trying to refrain from shouting.  
“You’re asking that everyone risk running into a trap while tired instead of taking a small moment to regain strength,” Camilla scoffs at him, “I thought a High Prince would care about the health of his allies more.” How could he be so arrogant to think that he’s in the right?  
Ryoma, patience running thin, scowls at Camilla “And you would rather feel so secure that no one else will attack while we stay here? You’re mad!”  
“Did you not witness all of our enemies fall, or are you too full of yourself to notice your surroundings? If anyone else were to attack us they would have done so by now, why would they lay waiting any longer?” Completely over him, Camilla grips the handle of her axe tightly “And if anyone does come up, I’ll take them down myself if I have to.”  
Before Ryoma could respond, a blast of cold wind flows amongst them all. “I can see now why Hans failed so quickly: Neither of us expected the High Prince of Hoshido to make an appearance.” From across the field Iago held a Fimbulvetr tome open. “I can’t say I’m surprised, he never was very bright anyway.”

***

“Everyone group up, it’s not over yet! We don’t have a lot of time to waste, but that’s no excuse for being careless; don’t let them overwhelm you and we’ll be fine.” Corrin commanded everyone to break up into pairs for safety, unfortunately for Camilla she was paired with Ryoma. Corrin said she would be able to get him into the action easier, yet she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d done something wrong and this was her punishment.  
“I would say I was right, but that’s counterproductive. How about we focus on protecting each other and leave our feelings out of this?” Ryoma says as he approaches Camilla to prepare.  
“Oh how gracious of you to leave such things out of the battle, I can see that’s something new you’ve learned,” She snapped back at him, “We’re supposed to be towards the front with the other strong fighters, but don’t get too cocky; I may be watching your back but that doesn’t mean I’m able to pull you out of every situation.”  
Ryoma grunts in disapproval, but decides to not push it further. There’s no real need to argue, it’s not as if they’ll always be paired up right?  
Rushing down the eastern side with the other royals, Camilla can plainly see the strength Ryoma has first hand. Having such raw power as an ally rather than an enemy is quite a relief, if only Xander-  
“It looks like we’ve arrived just in time.”  
Camilla looks around to try to find the source of the voice, it sounds too familiar, but could it be?  
“Iago’s forces will prove no match for me. I’ll crush them in the blink of an eye.” Leo appears from seemingly out of nowhere as he dispatches a few enemies before turning to take in the scene of the army staring at him. “Oh? You’ve the entire Hoshidan royal family with you and still you’re having trouble? That’s a bit disappointing if I have to admit.”  
“Save it for later, Leo,” Xander emerges a little behind him, but his imposing image has an immediate effect on the enemy, “One issue at a time.”  
“Xander! Leo! But wait… if you’re here to join us, then you didn’t send these armies?” Corrin looks between the two of them, glad to see everyone together.  
“Quite the contrary, I’m glad to be able to remove that leech from the Nohrian army.” Leo looks across the field to find Iago staring back at him. Clearly he seems unphased and unsurprised to see Leo and Xander standing against him.  
“Let us help clear a path to him, he has no one to hide behind anymore. It’s time to rid the world of one more burden.” Xander raises Siegfried and rushes forward to join the fight.  
With everyone pushing forward with renewed morale, it’s as if they’re stampeding over the enemy. Despite her contempt for Ryoma, Camilla has to admit that he is putting in a lot of work to help Corrin. There’s still a lack of trust for him, but maybe being paired with him for now will serve to let her watch over him; make sure he doesn’t try anything.  
As everyone advanced steadily, Camilla could hear some idle talk between Corrin and Xander; apparently his and Leo’s retainers had just arrived to help. They’ll be holding up the backline while everyone moves on.  
Finding himself alone against an army of determined soldiers, Iago didn’t seem to crack under the pressure. Maybe he was so broken that he couldn’t even show it? Nonetheless, he fell with little grace. Everyone seemed relieved on the Nohrian side, while the Hoshidans seemed to care more that the enemy was dead. They never had to deal with him, why would they care? He was just another barrier to them, but at least he’s gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The woman that was with Ryoma - Scarlet? Was that her name? - didn’t make the journey. As for how much her death affected Ryoma, no one was quite sure since he didn’t seem to show any emotion over it. Camilla would say it seemed like a heartless reaction, but she knew that he was just hiding his grief. Was it the best way to deal with it? Probably not, but what did she care? She saw the destructive look he had back in Cyrkensia when Scarlet went down then, so obviously he was showing restraint for once.  
Whatever, Camilla didn’t even know the woman. Of course it’s a shame that she’s gone, one less ally to make things easier, but Xander and Leo are now with them, any loss of firepower from her has been made up for in spades by those two alone, not to mention their retainers are here as well. So long as Ryoma continues to fight as well as before, there will be time to grieve later.

***

Everyone deals with loss in their own way, it seemed that Ryoma took the loss as an excuse to be more ‘protective’, though it just seemed like he refused to be separated from his family more so; Corrin in particular. Camilla couldn't care less for his motives, as long as he didn't get too close to her there would be no issue, and even then it seemed he liked to push his luck with how close he could get.  
What a shame it always was when Camilla had some ‘important’ matter to pull Corrin away from him, but who can say no?  
“No,” Ryoma looked straight into Camilla’s eyes, “I don't see how you need her for some ‘crucial design choice’.” He was tired of Camilla swooping in and snatching Corrin anytime she pleased, there's barely any downtime between battles as is!  
“She wouldn't be needed if it wasn't ‘crucial’ now would she?” She calmly replies, ready to pull out any reason she needs. “It's her castle, stands to reason her input should be considered when we build anything, right?”  
“Oh, I'm sure whatever you all are planning to do is fine. I don't think I'm needed for every decision, and as long as everyone is happy then it should all work out,” Corrin cut in from beside Ryoma, “Besides, Ryoma said he wanted to train with me, I would hate to push it off any more.”  
Seeing no way around it now that Corrin chimed in, Camilla has no choice but to go with it. “Alright dear, but don't beat him too bad, it wouldn't do to have him out of commission for the next fight.” she can't help but get in one last jab before she walks away. By the way his face scrunched up in annoyance, she can tell she got the reaction she wanted.

***

“Can we talk?”  
It was three words she should’ve expected at some point, yet they still caught her off guard. “Of course, but do make it quick. I don't have all day for a nice chat.”  
“Not an issue, I only have one question: Why have you been separating Corrin from me every chance you get?”  
“My, I don't know what you mean-”  
“Don't play games with me Camilla, I'm not oblivious to your ways, and I think I deserve an explanation.”  
“Hmm…” Camilla paused for a minute to weigh her options. She could tell him why, but what good would it do her to make him angry? It wouldn't really serve her well to make up a lie either… “Well, if you really care to know, it's because I don't fully trust your intentions.”  
“We've been allies for quite some time now, and you don't trust my intentions?” his eyes narrow slightly, “What is there not to trust? What could you possibly think I would do?”  
“I don't think you'd be stupid enough to harm her,” she rolls her eyes slightly, “but being allies for such a short time after being enemies for so long? I'm here to protect Corrin, and years of contempt from both sides won't just magically disappear.”  
“And yet you have no qualms when we fight together? You've never expressed any issue when we've charged into battle side by side.”  
“You're an incredible asset to the army, Ryoma, but I don't like it when anyone tries to come between me and Corrin.”  
“You think you're the only one who cares for Corrin so fiercely? It seems we have more in common than you care to admit.”  
“...I see,” thinking for a moment, Camilla looks at Ryoma to study his face, “then maybe we can use this to our advantage.”  
“Pardon?” caught off guard at the sudden change, he asks a bit skeptical, “What exactly are we using?”  
“Well, we are both fiercely loyal to Corrin, so why not use that to form a better relationship?” She pauses to study his reaction before continuing, “You see, the better we work together, the better we can help her take down this threat. It would also help ease tensions between the two nations if they see the royal families getting along.”  
Taken aback, Ryoma thinks about this for a minute. It seems easy enough, and with a common goal there shouldn't be any concerns about motives, so what could go wrong? “If anything it's worth a shot. I'm sure we'll be able to put aside any differences for the sake of Corrin.”  
“Well with already having common ground to build on, I'm sure it'll be easy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With the army progressing at a decent rate, it seemed that the end of the war was near. Fighting on throughout the mysterious land of Valla was quite the challenge given all the strange terrain they had encountered. The only thing that seemed normal was the downtime they had between major battles. It gave everyone some quality time to forge stronger bonds with each other, some people even falling in love. A strange idea, isn't it? Falling for someone at a time like this? As long as it strengthened relations among the two nations, Camilla didn't see any real downside to any of this.  
“Camilla, do you have a moment?” Ryoma appeared from seemingly out of nowhere, which is strange since he's usually one of the most noticeable people in the army.  
“Certainly, Ryoma. I must say I admire how diligent you've been in coming to speak with me regularly. You're very committed to our goal of forging a stronger bond.”  
“Yes, well, I'm very stubborn when I set my mind to something. But there's more to it than that…”  
“Oh? Have you come to enjoy our little chats?” Camilla sees him react in a strange way when she says that, but what kind of reaction could that be? He seems… flustered? “Is something wrong?”  
“I've been having some… feelings lately…”  
“Oh ho! The stoic warrior Ryoma, having feelings? Ahaha!” Camilla gives a little laugh before looking at Ryoma’s serious face, “Er, pardon me. That was rude.”  
“It's alright,” he takes a deep breath before continuing, “At first I saw this as just a means to better serve Corrin, but I'm afraid that your charms have gotten the better of me, Princess Camilla.” Camilla blushes a little at that comment, but let's him continue. “it's… it's more than just your beauty though, it's the kindness that you offer to others. I find myself wanting to fight for your sake rather than Corrin’s.”  
“Wait, you're actually being serious… Ryoma, what are-”  
“Princess Camilla, marry me… marry me and unite our two great kingdoms!”  
“Ryoma, I don't know-”  
“I know we had a rocky start, and I imagine not everyone will accept us together, but I will do whatever it takes to spend the rest of my life with you.”  
Camilla smiles “You're dead serious. You're ALWAYS serious, so I should have known. But that's something I love about you.”  
He smiles softly at her, “Can you believe it Camilla? That we would end up like this after it all?”  
“It is quite a surprise… but a pleasant one, to be sure!”

_**“Camilla, for the good of our kingdoms, for the glory of everlasting love and the honor of holding your hand, I vow complete and undying dedication, along with-”** _

_**“Oh, just remove the chin armor and kiss me, you fool!”** _

**~~♡♡♡~~**

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry some of the formatting is awkward, I'm trying to get used to this. If you couldn't tell, I kinda squished the story down to three main scenes. I was gonna make it a large story, but I only had a few weeks to do the exchange and I had to cut down a lot of my ideas so I could get something presentable. I hope it was okay, I'll try to start writing other ideas I've had for a long time now, but idk, I'm slow at writing things I want to.


End file.
